History Main / ScarSurvey

* In the ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'' story [[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8816584/1/Deck-the-halls "Deck the Halls"]], Alesha Philips ''initiates'' sex with Matt Devlin this way, trailing her fingers, then her mouth across the scars left from his shooting (he survives in this universe).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/41879061 Don't Tell Your Mother]]'', which ships Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers, depicts Skinner as having multiple scars from [[TheVietnamVet his time in war]], and has a scene in which Chalmers asks him how he got each one as the two of them are laying in bed together.

* Male ''and'' female example: this is the main point of the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fanfic [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/260078 "Much Better Now"]]. After Mai checks out the scars all over Zuko's body, he notices hers, including some she got by self-harming when she was younger.

** In "Time of Death", Oliver, John Diggle, and Sara Lance are all sparring and end up sharing the origins of their various scars (IED, grenade, knives, bullets, etc.) Their IT specialist Felicity Smoak feels somewhat left out as the only scar she can boast of is from getting her wisdom teeth removed (three stitches!). She's quite happy when she later [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet]] for Sara, giving her a genuine badass scar.

** In "Semper Fidelis", Matt Murdock's former girlfriend Elektra checks out the scars he acquired during last season's events, and he examines some of her new ones as well. As Matt is involved with Karen Page at the time, this {UnresolvedSexualTension-laden scene is [[BettyAndVeronica not a good sign]].

* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' gives us that rare gender-flipped example when Guts inspects Casca's arrow-wound scars [[spoiler: right before they make love]], since Casca is just as much as a [[ActionGirl badass fighter]] as he who has [[CoveredWithScars earned her fair amount of scars from battle.]] She is at first embarrassed by them... but that doesn't stop Guts from finding her [[AmazonianBeauty totally attractive.]]

* In the anime adaptation of ''{{Manga/Parasyte}}'', [[spoiler:Murano caresses Shinichi's chest scar during their PreClimaxClimax.]]

* Has happened multiple times with Bruce (Franchise/{{Batman}}) Wayne.
* It happened between [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]] and Milla Donovan during the "Hardcore" arc.

* Male ''and'' female example: this is the main point of the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fanfic [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/260078 Much Better Now]] After Mai checks out the scars all over Zuko's body, he notices hers, including some she got by self-harming when she was younger.
* A [[SlashFic male-on-male]] example is the entirety of the ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' one-shot [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/572921 Corpore Sano]] -- contrasting the film's recurring motif of damage and Bond's combat scars with those of Q's carefully and deliberately administered self-harm scars.
* One ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' fanfic had Carth and Canderous get a little drunk and boastful, which leads them to start stripping and comparing battle scars. Now, the ''Mando'ade'' has an impressive collection, but so does the Republic War vet. Carth's about to show off the nastiest one he has (which requires dropping trou) when the crew's women come in Fem!Revan then shuts them ''both'' up by showing off ''her'' nastiest one.

* In chapter 41 of ''Fanfic/RWBYScars'', Blake kisses her girlfriend Weiss' facial scar, which Weiss received [[spoiler:by [[SelfHarm scarring herself]] a few years prior.]] Blake refers to Weiss' scar as her second favorite part of Weiss' face (right after her eyes).

* In the ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'' story [[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8816584/1/Deck-the-halls Deck The Halls]] Alesha Philips ''initiates'' sex with Matt Devlin this way, trailing her fingers, then her mouth across the scars left from his shooting (he survives in this universe).
* Genderflipped in the ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' fic ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/4082255/1/March-Fracture March Fracture]]''. It deals with the tension between Wash and Zoe because Wash wants to know the stories behind her scars and Zoe rarely if ever talks about any of it, likely not wanting to burden Wash with the darkness that’s been in her life.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/41879061 Don't Tell Your Mother]]'', which ships [[Characters/TheSimpsonsElementarySchool Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers]], depicts [[TheVietnamVet Skinner]] as having multiple scars from his time in war, and has a scene where Chalmers asks him how he got each one as the two of them are laying in bed together.
* The Manga/RanmaOneHalf / WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse story ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23855998 Skies of Blue, Red Roses Too]]'' has Ranma and Lapis discussing Ranma’s scars, including commenting that only the ones acquired since Jusenkyou actually show up in her [[GenderBender female form]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanHush''. Batman/Bruce Wayne finally reveals his SecretIdentity to Catwoman/Selina Kyle, and they end up in bed together. This trope happens post-coitus.
-->'''Selina:''' Your scars...[[DentedIron so many]].
-->'''Bruce:''' You ah...remember these?
-->'''Selina:''' I'd just gotten my retractable claws. Cost a small fortune.
-->'''Bruce:''' They worked. I had to upgrade my Kevlar body armor after that.
-->'''Selina:''' Uh, sorry?

[[folder: Film -- Live Action]]
* The famous scene in ''Film/LethalWeapon3'' where Martin Riggs and Lorna Cole start talking about the injuries they got as {{Cowboy Cop}}s; Cole chickens out when Riggs starts stripping off to show his properly.
* Spoofed in ''Film/LoadedWeapon1'' when Destiny shows off her various cosmetic surgery mishaps in comparison to Colt's over-the-top war wounds.
* In ''Film/TheReturnOfSwampThing'' features a villainous example when a pair of male and female mercenaries in employ of the MadScientist BigBad flirt by showing off their scars. One of the guy's is a scratch from a former lover.
* ''Film/IRobot'' (2004). A {{UST}} moment (though not one that's ever consummated) occurs between Detective Spooner and robopsychologist Susan Calvin when she examines his artificial arm and ribs; this leads to the scene where Spooner explains how he got the injury and why he doesn't trust robots.
* Both played straight and subverted in ''Film/WorkingGirl'' when Tess asks Jack about the scar on his chin post-coitus. He initially claims it was a knife wound from an attempted mugging, but immediately recants and tells the much more mundane and embarrassing true story.

* Happens to the titular serial killer in ''Film/TheStepfather II'', when his current love interest notices the knife wound he received at the end of the first film. He gives a BS response about how he was attacked by a former and extremely unstable patient of his.
* ''Film/TheBigRedOne''. In a deleted scene the German sergeant protagonist receives a (non-sexual) massage from a French woman who asks about the injuries we've seen him receive earlier in the movie.
* In ''Film/FiveFeetApart'', Stella and Will strip to their underwear and compare surgical scars.
* In ''Film/RocknRolla'' two Russian mobsters [[FromCamouflageToCriminal who are former Russian special forces]] compare their scars while waiting in the car. Culminating with the bigger one presenting a scar he claims to be a result of getting his arm caught in a tank's track.
* ''Film/{{Hancock}}'' has a rather odd version in which Mary tells Hancock where he got all his scars. He has amnesia and doesn't remember any of them.
* Discussed rather than seen in ''Film/MrAndMrsSmith2005''. The morning after their DestructoNookie John and Jane Smith are talking about past hits, and the permanent injuries they have as a result.
* The famous scar comparison scene in ''Film/{{Jaws}}''.

* ''Film/TheTerminator''. Sarah Connor touches the burn/bullet scars on Kyle Reese's back shortly before they make love.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. After they've made love and are warming themselves by the fireplace, Bruce Wayne and Miranda Tate note each other's scars. [[spoiler:This is an early clue that Miranda is a villain, as the scar on her back is the same as the League of Shadows brand seen in ''Film/BatmanBegins''.]]

* A non-sexual version in ''Film/ForcedVengeance''. Creator/ChuckNorris' character is arrested by the police and his scars catalogued, with our hero explaining what weapon caused them: knife, gunshot, pitchfork...

* ''Film/LaReineMargot''. Margot's brothers forcibly undress her, pointing out the various scars from love bites inflicted during their VillainousIncest.

* Subverted in ''Film/DeathRace2000''. Frankenstein's navigator gets him to take off his Darth Vader-esque gear to show his racing injuries and [[WeCanRebuildHim rebuilt cyborg body]], all described in detail by the government PropagandaMachine. But his outfit just covers for the fact that he doesn't have any scars, as he's a LegacyCharacter raised and trained by the government for the [[BreadAndCircuses Transcontinental Road Race]], each one replaced when the last is killed or incapacitated.
* In ''Film/TruthOrDare2012'', Gemma walks in on Justin changing his shirt and comments--rather appreciatively--that he has a lot of scars. He responds wryly that he has been in a lot of scrapes.
* ''Film/PigHunt'': When Ricky is asked if he got the scar on his neck from the giant hog that attacked him, he explains that he got that scar from John in a dispute over a game of mumbletypeg. He then lifts up his shirt to show the even bigger scars he got from being wounded in Iraq, and from the hog attack.
* A variation in ''Film/TheDarkTower'' when Roland is taken to a hospital on Keystone Earth. A group of doctors appear wanting to hold him for observation because he has several strains of hepatitis and chronic radiation poisoning.
* The theatrical version of ''Film/Daredevil2003'' has a love scene involving the title character and Elektra Natchios, who at one point is shown tracing one of the [[HurtingHero many scars on Matt Murdock's back]] and frowning as if wondering how he got them (at the time she doesn't know he's Daredevil).
* ''Film/JonahHex''. [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Lilah]] does this as foreplay with the title character; in this case she's asking in what order he got his many bulletholes. Jonah is not NighInvulnerable but is too stubborn to die, so he's CoveredInScars as well as his infamous FacialHorror.
* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Natasha shows Steve the scar she received protecting one of the Winter Soldier's targets. She mentions that he shot ''through'' her to get the target; she was lucky that, since she wasn't the target, he let her survive the ordeal.

* Guy walks into a bar and sees a guy DressedToPlunder--EyepatchOfPower, HookHand, peg leg, the works. He asks the apparent pirate how he got each of his injuries. The pirate answers regarding the leg, "[[TalkLikeAPirate Arr]], I was raidin' a Spanish galleon and an eighteen-pounder took me leg off at the knee." Regarding the hand, "Arr, I fell overboard and a great white shark bit me hand off." Regarding the eyepatch:
-->[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "Arr, a seagull pooped in me eye."]]
-->"Wait, run that by me again?"
-->[[EyeScream "Arr, it was the first day I had me hook!"]]

* ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' has a gender-reversed example, with Cira and [[spoiler: Jerin]], when they talk about the scar on her face, which is nothing compared to how her back looks. They didn't sleep with each other beforehand, but [[spoiler: she did try to seduce him, and tries a second time after revealing her scars.]]

* In ''Literature/CityOfBones2002'', Julia Brasher asks Harry Bosch about his scars after sex. He has a scar from a knife wound suffered in the Vietnam War, and a bullet scar which he suffered during the Harry Bosch novel ''The Black Echo''.
* An after-sex version happens in Creator/SMStirling's post-apocalypse novel ''Literature/DiesTheFire''. An ex-recon Marine is asked about a scar he got during Desert Storm. He says it's from an RPG, causing the [[AcronymConfusion puzzled woman to wonder]] how you get a scar during a RolePlayingGame.
* It's not after sex because they're not yet married and Taysan society doesn't countenance premaritals, but Jay shows off as many of his scars as are decently visible to Ashlenn in the third ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' book. He omits to mention that one of them was received in a beating from the henchman of a husband he cuckolded.
* ''Fair Game'', a crime novel by Paula Gosling. The woman being guarded by the cop protagonist asks about his scars when she [[ShirtlessScene sees him shirtless]] while shaving.
* ''The Little Drummer Girl''. Charlie is sleeping with her Mossad [[TheHandler case officer]] Joseph and asks about his scars; Joseph says they're burns from the hot metal of the tank he used to drive and the machine-gun wounds he got after bailing out of it. A grimmer version of this trope is when Mossad spymaster Kurtz shows her captured terrorist Salim, whom Charlie is going to pretend was her boyfriend. They point out his various scars and how he got them, information she would know if she was truly his lover.
* ''Literature/TheExecutioner''. In "Panic in Philly", the [[DaddysLittleVillain daughter of a Mafia boss]] fires at Mack Bolan with a shotgun, but the choke setting and pellet size are wrong and the pellets only sting him. Later when Bolan infiltrates their family by posing as a [[ProfessionalKiller Black Ace]], she sees the welts on his body during this trope and realizes who he really is.
** In the ''Literature/AbleTeam'' spin-off, government 'specialist' Carl Lyons is asked post-coitus by DEA agent Flor Trujillo how he got his various scars, including a crescent scar on his elbow caused by a rear-view mirror hurled at him by the impact of a machine-gun bullet. He says they're from breaking up family fights when he was a cop, and the elbow one was from an attack-trained clam on the beach. Flor doesn't believe him.
* ''Literature/TheWindupGirl'' by Paolo Bacigalupi. Genetically engineered concubine Emiko does a silent version of this when she's in bed with corporate spy Anderson Lake, trying to work out from his wounds something of his MysteriousPast.

*** And again when dressing up for a fancy party in ''Literature/SkinGame'', this time with Hannah Ascher, a rogue pyromancer and a temporary partner in crime, doing the survey. Unlike the last time, Harry chose to stay strictly business. [[spoiler: Even the sex-crazy Winter Knight Mantle had to thank him later though, as it turned out that Ascher played host to Harry's old "friend", Fallen angel Lasciel the Temptress.]]
* Anita Blake from ''Literature/AnitaBlakeVampireHunter'', has to show off and talk about her many scars from vampire hunting in nearly every book, no sex needed (although she has plenty of that).
* Happens to Literature/MatthewHawkwood in ''Ratcatcher''.
* Occurs every time Literature/JackReacher gets laid.

* A rare solo version occurs in ''[[Literature/TheVampireFiles Bloodlist]]'' when newly-undead Jack examines his own injuries to try to determine how he'd died.
* Since Geralt of ''Literature/TheWitcher'' series is in a job that constantly makes all kinds of nasties mistake him for a chew toy, and he also ReallyGetsAround, this tends to happen at least once a book.

* ''Literature/UseOfWeapons''. Done by a poet-lover of Cheradenine Zakalwe, who's CoveredInScars as he's a mercenary for the Culture. Although he could lose the scars, he claims to keep them to impress girls. He ends up losing the scars after being decapitated, then given a new clone body, whereupon he sheds ManlyTears as EveryScarHasAStory.

* ''Fraternity of the Stone'', by David Morrell. The protagonist spends a non-sexual night with a prostitute to [[ProperlyParanoid avoid sleeping in a hotel]]. She's shocked by the scars on his back, but he pretends they're from being tortured during the Vietnam War. Actually they're self-inflicted when he flagellated himself out of guilt for his sins, having undergone a HeelFaithTurn from being a ProfessionalKiller.
* In the novelization of ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' Saavik sleeps with David Marcus, who notes the scar of a Romulan family mark. Saavik explains that she keeps the mark so that if she ever meets her father, she can demand the right of a [[RapeAndRevenge blood-duel to avenge her Vulcan mother]].
* It doesn't happen on-screen, so to speak, but in ''Literature/TheSharingKnife'', Fawn is stated to have asked Dag for the stories behind each and every one of the many, many scars he's accumulated over the course of his long career as a HunterOfMonsters.

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' had Eliot ''and'' guest character Raquel Dayan showing each other their scars. All tropes were played straight for both of them.
* ''Series/CougarTown'' had a young man Jules was about to sleep with ask her about a stomach scar in the pilot. She awkwardly claims she got knifed as a kid, then reveals it's from her C-Section.
* ''Series/CowboyBebop2021''. In "Darkside Tango", Spike Spiegel expresses doubt that Faye Valentine is a proper BountyHunter, so the two start showing off their scars as a mutual BadassBoast. It's not [[TeethClenchedTeamwork played for sexual tension]], unless it's the [[BelligerentSexualTension belligerent kind]].

* ''Series/{{Beauty and the Beast|1987}}'', a past love notices the scar behind Catherine's ear. However, she only tells him "it's a long story" when he asks how she got it.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': In episode [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS1E16EndOfTheBeginning "End of the Beginning"]], while discussing with Skye, after her stomach wound is mentioned Agent Garret talks about several scars he'd received in the line of duty, including showing off a nasty third-degree burn below the neck.
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''.
** While hiding from an HR manhunt in "The Crossing", John Reese and Joss Carter show each other the injuries they got during the War on Terror. This leads to Reese showing the bullet he was intending to kill himself with before meeting Carter in the pilot episode, which leads to TheBigDamnKiss.
** The post-coital version happens in "6,741". Root and Sameen Shaw have sex after the latter escapes from nine months of torture by Samaritan operatives. When Root starts with this trope, Shaw has to inform her the scars are from her previous work as a government assassin, whereas Samaritan's torture was more psychological.
* There's another example in ''Series/DueSouth''. During his recovery at hospital, Benton Fraser is subjected to one by a very attractive nurse. She makes good guesses about where his various scars come from. Lots of sexual tension, but unresolved.

* A sci-fi variation occurs in ''Series/{{Altered Carbon}}''. Ortega and Kovacs do the pre-sex version during an AfterActionPatchUp, only [[BodySurf it's not his body]] so she has to tell him where he got the scars from in the first place.
* ''Series/{{Outlander}}'': While having his bullet wound tended to by Claire, Jamie explains how he got the extensive lattice of scars covering his back.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones''

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''
** In "Honor Thy Father", Thea Queen walks in on her brother Oliver changing his shirt and is shocked at the extensive burns and scars on his body, and gets angry when he refuses to talk about how he got them.
** In "Damaged", Oliver reveals that he was tortured on the island he was marooned on. His estranged ex-fiancé Laurel Lance insists on seeing the scars, leading to a BigDamnKiss before Laurel comes to her senses and rushes from the room.
** In "Time of Death", Oliver, John Diggle, and Sara Lance are all sparring and end up sharing the origins of their various scars (IED, grenade, knives, bullets, etc.) Their IT specialist Felicity Smoak feels somewhat left out as the only scar she can boast of is from getting her wisdom teeth removed (3 stitches!). She's quite happy when she later [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet]] for Sara, giving her a genuine badass scar.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015''
** In "Semper Fidelis", Matt Murdock's former girlfriend Elektra checks out the scars he acquired during last season's events, and he examines some of her new ones as well. As Matt is involved with Karen Page at the time, this {{UST}}-laden scene is [[BettyAndVeronica not a good sign]].
** In "Reunion", while hiding from [[ComicBook/{{Bullseye|MarvelComics}} Agent Poindexter]] in the church crypt, Matt exchanges his bloodstained shirt for a new one and Karen's reaction is a shocked "Jesus, Matt..." at the sight of all the fresh scars on his chest from his fight with Poindexter.
* ''Series/ThePunisher2017''
** In "Cold Steel", Dinah Madani does this after sex with [[PrivateMilitaryContractor Billy Russo]]. She spots a bruise that he claims is a paintball bruise from a training exercise (actually it's from when the Punisher shot Russo while he was wearing a bulletproof vest) and compares it to an actual bullet wound on his body. Dinah expects a suitably badass (and somewhat exaggerated) war story about an injury to his shoulder, but Russo reveals that's from when [[DarkAndTroubledPast his arm was broken by a pedophile while he was in a group home]]. Dinah jokes that [[TemptingFate at least his handsome face wasn't damaged.]]

--->'''Beth:''' I mean, [[MadeOfIron you should be]]...should I see the other guy?
--->'''Frank:''' Nah. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Rough road.]]
--->'''Beth:''' Yeah, you're not kidding. ''(both laugh)'' What happened?
--->'''Frank:''' [[HalfTruth Marine Corp.]]
* ''Series/BodyguardUK2018''. Episode 3 opens with Julia Montague and David Budd post-coitus, with Julia lightly running her fingers over the scars on Budd's back that he got from his military service in Afghanistan.
-->'''Julia:''' They don't hurt?
-->'''David:''' Not now. I'm one of the lucky ones.
-->'''Julia:''' Because you survived?
-->'''David:''' Aye, [[ShellShockedVeteran that too]].
* On ''Series/ThirdWatch'', after they make love for the first time, Doc notices a scar on his girlfriend Dr. Morales' arm, which she tells him she got in high school, fighting with another girl over a guy.
* In the 1992 TV movie ''A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia'', a colleague sees the scars on Lawrence's back and asks about them. He claims they were from being dragged through a barbed wire fence, but [[UnreliableNarrator it's left ambiguous if that's the real story]].
* ''Series/HaltAndCatchFire'': While sleeping with Joe, Cameron observes a scar on Joe's chest then asks how he acquired them, Joe [[MultipleChoicePast goes into a laundry list of backstories]] such as being chased on the roof by bullies, joyriding in his new car in the middle of winter and even [[NoodleIncident an incident involving a rusted mill]]. Joe reveals that he had gotten scarred from [[spoiler: accidentally falling off his roof while stargazing with his mom while she was high on drugs]].
* ''Series/Halo2022''. John-117 and Makee wordlessly examine each other's scars during their love scene in "Allegience". His from battle and the surgery used to turn him into a SuperSoldier, hers from when [[DarkAndTroubledPast she was tortured with a shock baton as a child]].

* In Carlos Murillo's ''dark play or stories for boys,'' the entire plot is kicked off by one of these. In the first scene, Nick has just had sex with a girl for the first time. She asks him about the dozens of different-sized slash-like scars on his abdomen, and [[ConsummateLiar his narration immediately spirals into a panic about what to tell her]]. The rest of the play is a series of flashbacks leading up to how he got them. [[UnreliableNarrator Supposedly.]]

* Gender-inverted in ''VisualNovel/{{Ever17}}'', when Tsugumi shows her many scars to Takeshi during their gondola ride. Then they make love.

** In Lilly's first sex scene, despite being blind, she manages to feel Hisao's scars from his heart surgery. She becomes uneasy over whether they should keep going, but Hisao suggests that it should be OK for him.
** In Hanako's route, Hisao's decision to show her his scars was perhaps the definitive turning point in their relationship, partly due to the insecurity Hanako has about her own much more visible scars. [[spoiler: Hanako... sorta returns the favor later [[SexAsRiteOfPassage right before her own sex scene]], stripping down to her panties and pantyhose and letting Hisao see her body clearly.]]
** Subverted in one of the sex scenes with Rin, [[spoiler: more exactly the second one. According to Hisao's narration (the player doesn't get to see it), the born-without-arms Rin used her foot to touch his chest... but when she lightly touched the scar on his chest, he covered it with his hands almost by reflex and didn't let her touch it directly.]]

A scene (often before or [[TalkingInBed after sex]]) where the heroine asks the hero how he got the [[DentedIron various scars on his body]]. This gives him a chance to [[RealMenGetShot reveal his badass nature]] or MysteriousPast without appearing boastful to the audience. If this scene happens [[ShirtlessScene before the two become lovers]], it's a good opportunity for {{Fanservice}} and UnresolvedSexualTension as she [[EatingTheEyeCandy studies his body closely]].

* An after-sex version happens in Creator/SMStirling's post-apocalypse novel ''Literature/DiesTheFire''. An ex-recon Marine is asked about a scar he got during Desert Storm. He says it's from an [[CoolGuns/RocketsMissilesAndGrenadeLaunchers RPG]], causing the [[AcronymConfusion puzzled woman to wonder]] how you get a scar during a RolePlayingGame.

* ''Film/JonahHex''. Lilah does this as foreplay with the title character; in this case she's asking in what order he got his many bulletholes. Jonah is not NighInvulnerable but is too stubborn to die, so he's CoveredInScars as well as his infamous FacialHorror.

* ''Film/JonahHex''. Lilah does this as foreplay with the title character; in this case she's asking in what order he got his many bulletholes. Jonah is not NighInvulnerable but is too stubborn to die, so he's CoveredInScars.

* The theatrical version of ''Film/Daredevil2003'' has a love scene involving the title character and Elektra Natchios, who at one point is shown tracing one of the [[HurtingHero many scars on Matt Murdock's back]] and frowning as if wondering how he got them.

** In "Cold Steel", Dinah Madani does this after sex with PrivateMilitaryContractor Billy Russo. He explains an apparent bullet wound is actually a paintball bruise from a training exercise and compares it to an actual bullet wound on his body. Dinah expects a suitably badass (and somewhat exaggerated) war story about an injury to his shoulder, but Russo reveals that's from when [[DarkAndTroubledPast his arm was broken by a pedophile while he was in a group home]]. Dinah jokes that [[TemptingFate at least his handsome face wasn't damaged.]]

* In ''Film/RocknRolla'' two Russian mobsters compare their scars while waiting in the car. Culminating with the tougher one presenting a scar he claims to be left by the tank track.

* Subverted in ''Film/DeathRace2000''. Frankenstein's navigator gets him to take off his DarthVaderClone gear to show his racing injuries and [[WeCanRebuildHim rebuilt cyborg body]], all described in detail by the government PropagandaMachine. But his outfit just covers for the fact that he doesn't have any scars, as he's a LegacyCharacter raised and trained by the government for the [[BreadAndCircuses Transcontinental Road Race]], each one replaced when the last is killed or incapacitated.

** In "Reunion", while hiding from [[ComicBook/{{Bullseye}} Agent Poindexter]] in the church crypt, Matt exchanges his bloodstained shirt for a new one and Karen's reaction is a shocked "Jesus, Matt..." at the sight of all the fresh scars on his chest from his fight with Poindexter.

* ''Series/HaltAndCatchFire'': While sleeping with Joe, Cameron observes a scar on Joe's chest then asks how he acquired them, Joe [[MultipleChoicePast goes into a laundry list of backstories]] such as being chased on the roof by bullies, joyriding in his new car in the middle of winter and even [[NoodleIncident an incident involving a rusted mill]]. Joe reveals that he had gotten his scars from [[spoiler: accientally falling off his roof while stargazing with his mom while she was high on drugs]].

* From the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' J/7 SlashFic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/235011?view_adult=true A Kiss on the Body Electric]]'' by Jane St Clair.
-->Here, this is where she cut her leg on an ancient barbed-wire fence as a child. This is the mark left over from a shuttle accident when she was just an ensign. Those white lines across Kathryn's back are best forgotten; they're the history of a Cardassian prison where everything is unspeakable.

* In the TV movie ''A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia'', a colleague sees the scars on Lawrence's back and asks about them. He claims they were from being dragged through a barbed wire fence, but [[UnreliableNarrator it's left ambiguous if that's the real story]].

[[folder: Anime And Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

* Both played straight and subverted in ''Film/WorkingGirl'', when Tess asks Jack about the scar on his chin post-coitus. He initially claims it was a knife wound from an attempted mugging, but immediately recants and tells the much more mundane and embarrassing true story.

* ''Film/{{Hancock}}'' has a rather odd version in which Mary tells Hancock where he got all his scars. He has amnesia, and doesn't remember any of them.

* ''Film/PigHunt'': When Ricky is asked if if he got the scar on his neck from the giant hog that attacked him, he explains that he got that scar from John in a dispute over a game of mumbletypeg. He then lifts up his shirt to show the even bigger scars he got from being wounded in Iraq, and from the hog attack.

[[folder: Jokes ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* A subversion of the "mysterious badass" version occurs in ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'' when Yossarian, an American WWII bombardier, asks the Italian woman he has just slept with about the scars on her back. She tells him that she got them in an American air raid. She doesn't seem to take it personally though, because WarIsHell.

* ''Literature/TheWindupGirl'' by Paolo Bacigalupi. Genetically-engineered concubine Emiko does a silent version of this when she's in bed with corporate spy Anderson Lake, trying to work out from his wounds something of his MysteriousPast.

* A rare solo version occurs in ''[[Literature/TheVampireFiles Bloodlist]]'', when newly-undead Jack examines his own injuries to try to determine how he'd died.

* ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': Miles Vorkosigan experiences more than one of these, although they are not usually after having had sex. It tends to happen pretty much any time anyone who hasn't seen his collection of scars before sees him without long sleeves and long pants. On the other hand his future wife fantasizes about exploring those scars, slowly and thoroughly, in bed.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E3TheHarshLightOfDay The Harsh Light of Day]]", Parker examines the [[KissOfTheVampire scar on Buffy's neck that Angel gave her]]; Buffy isn't adverse to the attention.

** While hiding from a HR manhunt in "The Crossing", John Reese and Joss Carter show each other the injuries they got during the War on Terror. This leads to Reese showing the bullet he was intending to kill himself with before meeting Carter in the pilot episode, which leads to TheBigDamnKiss.

** In "Time of Death", Oliver, John Diggle and Sara Lance are all sparring and end up sharing the origins of their various scars (IED, grenade, knives, bullets, etc.) Their IT specialist Felicity Smoak feels somewhat left out as the only scar she can boast of is from getting her wisdom teeth removed (3 stitches!). She's quite happy when she later [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet]] for Sara, giving her a genuine badass scar.

** In "Cold Steel", Dinah Madani does this after sex with PrivateMilitaryContractor Billy Russo. He explains an apparent bullet wound is actually a paintball bruise from a training exercise, and compares it to an actual bullet wound on his body. Dinah expects a suitably badass (and somewhat exaggerated) war story about an injury to his shoulder, but Russo reveals that's from when [[DarkAndTroubledPast his arm was broken by a pedophile while he was in a group home]]. Dinah jokes that [[TemptingFate at least his handsome face wasn't damaged.]]
** In "One Bad Day", Russo (his face now extensively scarred) has [[IntimatePsychotherapy rough sex with his therapist]] Krista Dumont, who turns out to have her own scars, and even encourages Russo to squeeze them during sex to inflict pain on her. After sex she tells Russo to just go ahead and ask how she got them because everyone does eventually (though it's a while before she reveals the [[DarkAndTroubledPast full story]]).

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[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Visual Novels ]]

* ''Film/LaReineMargot''. Margot's brothers forceably undress her, pointing out the various scars from love bites inflicted during their VillainousIncest.

* ''Literature/TheExecutioner''. In "Panic in Philly", the [[DaddysLittleVillain daughter of a Mafia boss]] fires at Mack Bolan with a shotgun, but the choke setting and pellet size are wrong and the pellets only sting him. Later when Bolan infiltrates their family by posing as a [[ProfessionalKiller Black Ace]], she sees the welts on his body during this trope and realises who he really is.

* In the novelisation of ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' Saavik sleeps with David Marcus, who notes the scar of a Romulan family mark. Saavik explains that she keeps the mark so that if she ever meets her father, she can demand the right of a [[RapeAndRevenge blood-duel to avenge her Vulcan mother]].

** Daenerys dismisses the assertion that Jon Snow was brought back from the dead after [[Recap/GameOfThronesS5E10MothersMercy taking a knife in the heart]]. She realises otherwise when his clothes are removed to treat his injuries and she sees several old scars, including one directly over his heart. It's about this time that they fall in love too, so there's also the ShipTease element.

* In the ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'' story [[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8816584/1/Deck-the-halls Deck The Halls]] Alesha Philips does this to Matt Devlin ''before'' they have sex, trailing her fingers, then her mouth across the scars left from his shooting (he survives in this universe).